The Nude Bomb (1980)

Maxwell Smart is recalled to duty to help fight a villian who threatens to detonate a weapon that destroys clothing.

Director:

Clive Donner

Writers:

Mel Brooks (characters), Buck Henry (characters),

Stars:

Don Adams, Sylvia Kristel, Rhonda Fleming

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Don Adams	...	Maxwell Smart
Sylvia Kristel	...	Agent 34
Rhonda Fleming	...	Edith Von Secondberg
Dana Elcar	...	Chief
Pamela Hensley	...	Agent 36
Andrea Howard	...	Agent 22
Norman Lloyd	...	Carruthers
Bill Dana	...	Jonathan Levinson Seigle
Gary Imhoff	...	Jerry Krovney
Sarah Rush	...	Pam Krovney
Vittorio Gassman	...	Sauvage / Nino Salvatori Sebastiani
Walter Brooke	...	American Ambassador
Thomas Hill	...	President
Ceil Cabot	...	Landlady
Joey Forman	...	Agent 13

Storyline

An unknown terrorist has developed a new type of bomb that will destroy clothing, but leave people unharmed. Agent Maxwell Smart (this time without 99 or Hymie) is taken out of retirement and sent back into the field to track down who this madman is and put a stop to his plans.

---

Plot Keywords:

sequel | based on tv series | spying | box office flop | car chase | 

---

Taglines:

Would you believe... Maxwell Smart goes undercover to expose a plot to make the world naked?

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Return of Maxwell Smart

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Time Life Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leonard Stern, one of this movie's writers, spoke about Barbara Feldon not appearing in it: "She [Feldon] wasn't desirous of doing the movie. For her, the show was over. 'The Nude Bomb' is something that disadvantaged all of us that were connected with Get Smart. Originally, Arne Sultan, Bill Dana and I had an idea that we found delicious. A couturier, a foppish man with an insane fiendish desire to control the world, not for the power and money but for the idea that he could dress every single individual and become an international name. The Earth would be designed by him. It seemed marvelous if we could get the right flamboyant actor. It was never called 'The Nude Bomb', it was called 'The Return of Maxwell Smart'. Then it got into the hands of people who simply did not want, and I can't explain why, to duplicate the television show. They wanted to do it differently. I kept saying to them, 'Well, why did you buy it? Just leave it alone to rest in its present glory'. It then became a battle of trying to maintain the integrity of 'Smart' but not being welcome on the set. The director [Clive Donner], who was a good director . . . was used to doing intimate films [and] was a strange choice. As was Vittorio Gassman as the flamboyant, possibly homosexual designer."

---

Goofs

When Mr. Seigle is being pushed in to the emergency room, the stretcher hits a series of doors. Right after passing the elevators the camera goes in closer to Mr. Seigle and the door on the left has a broken window, but when the camera pulls back, the window is unbroken. It is the next set of doors that has the broken window.

---

Quotes

Maxwell Smart: [looking at a large door that works like a zipper] That's the second biggest zipper I've ever seen!

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits are based on Don Adams/Maxwell Smart's catch phrase "Would you believe...?" The words literally form the backdrop of the action; at one point "Would you believe a movie called 'The Nude Bomb' could receive a PG rating?" appears; and after Max inadvertently blows up the bad guy, the words "Would you believe a helluva explosion?" appear on screen.

---

Connections

Referenced in Laughing Boy (2000)

---

Soundtracks

"You're Always There"
Sung by Merry Clayton
Lyrics by Don Black
Music by Lalo Schifrin

User Reviews

Sometimes A Movie Seeks To Be Nothing More Than Simple Inane Fun!

Come on now, sometimes a movie seeks to be nothing more than simple inane fun! as is the case with The Nude Bomb. Let's face it you know going in this movie is farce it's just an enjoyable way to spend time you wanted desperately to waste anyway.

A movie about a dude in plumb paisley that wants to rule the world by creating a bomb that renders the world totally nude. Making the way clear for him to inflict his warped fashion sense on a now naked world get a grip its just fun. On the face of it the plot and the developer of the Nude Bomb sounds deliciously stereo-typical gay wanting to force feed a naked world his sense of high tone fashion.

However the movie is set in the hopelessly weird world of Control Agent number 86 Maxwell Smart and thats weirder than anything in gay life let me tell you. Max has to stop the nude bomb terror threat because, let's face it if the world was suddenly plunged into being seen in, "the all together", all the failings and small wonders of human civilization will be "exposed". Just think of the ugliest person you know now imagine you looking right at them when the first Nude Bomb hits... Yuck, gag me with a spoon. Now that I have you in a playful mood go buy the Nude Bomb movie and count your blessings if Agent 86 saves us from the Nude Bomb fright.

Of course the Nude Bomb would be great for the makers of Sport Utility Vehicle's if some men had to walk about nude because immense size and number of SUV's needed to rebuild shattered male ego's around the world would be huge.